Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE:EVRG) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $61.88.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho assumed coverage on Evergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Evergy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Evergy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Evergy from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Evergy from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st.

Evergy Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of EVRG opened at $62.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $60.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Evergy has a 12 month low of $47.97 and a 12 month high of $62.58.

Evergy (NYSE:EVRG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. Evergy had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 14.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Evergy will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Evergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.6675 dividend. This is a positive change from Evergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Evergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Evergy news, SVP Heather A. Humphrey sold 3,347 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total value of $196,803.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,076,463.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Charles A. Caisley sold 9,236 shares of Evergy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.63, for a total transaction of $550,742.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,993,132.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Heather A. Humphrey sold 3,347 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.80, for a total transaction of $196,803.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,076,463.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,884 shares of company stock valued at $941,810 in the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Evergy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Evergy in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Evergy in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Evergy by 47.1% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Evergy during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Evergy in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 87.24% of the company’s stock.

About Evergy

Evergy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the United States. The company generates electricity through coal, landfill gas, uranium, and natural gas and oil sources, as well as solar, wind, other renewable sources. It serves residences, commercial firms, industrials, municipalities, and other electric utilities.